Not an infant? Wang Linchi was dumbfounded. He had assud this generation's Nine Extres, like the previous ones, would be an infant. He had even prepared bandit mory constructs, ready to make his move and then retrieve the target.
What he never expected, however, was that this generation's Nine Extres was an adolescent, and one who bore a large number of similarities to Li Qinglian.
This made him ponder. What exactly is going on here?
Nevertheless, Wang Linchi still recognized him at a glance.
But why is his deanor even more immature than Li Qinglian's? Like a novice? No, more like he hasn't even left the nest, still in so ivory tower. Wang Linchi could tell the difference between Zhang Dao and the two Nine Extres he had previously encountered without even needing to compare them.
Emperor Xuwen, Li Wen'an, possessed the mature air of a successful man; Li Qinglian embodied the spirited vigor of youth.
And this Zhang Dao before him? He was more like an adolescent, full of vibrant energy.
The impression Wang Linchi got was that the Nine Extres was regressing in age. This baffled him. Logically, having existed for so long, his opponent should be growing increasingly shrewd and calculating, yet they seed to beco less so with each incarnation.
Could it be related to the Calamity of the Last Law? Wang Linchi mulled this over. However, upon further reflection, it seed to have little to do with him. Regardless of which stage the Nine Extres was in, to him, they were rely research material.
Since he's not an infant, things are much simpler for . I just can't proceed with the original plan.
Wang Linchi discarded the bandit mory constructs. If he had actually gone through with an assassination using that persona, it could easily provoke a defiant backlash from the target. If any reprisal were traced back to him, Wang Linchi would then have to reluctantly imprison the Nine Extres.
Then I'll disguise myself as a Traveling Taoist... no, a Traveling Temple Master, to sound him out. I wonder if he's inherited the Unpredicted Prophet ability. Wang Linchi had many things prepared to "feed" to this Nine Extres.
For instance, there was the Talisman Resonance Technique he had developed. Once the target matured, he could even implant the passive Nine Revolutions Inner Pellet Technique. With these two techniques, Wang Linchi could precisely locate his target and stay inford of his movents at all tis.
After that, naturally, he would ticulously "mince" his target to mitigate the threat of the Calamity of the Last Law.
He also wanted his Tai Mountain Seal to reach a thousand years of refinent.
As for other matters, those could wait. After all, he hadn't yet fully uncovered the secrets of the Nine Extres.
Wang Linchi altered his appearance and planned to find a place to lie low until morning.
It was already dark. If he went over now, he might not attract Zhang Dao's attention, and could even be mistaken for a thief or a wanted criminal.
This place really is a rare sanctuary. A bit impoverished, yes, but untouched by the flas of war.
Elsewhere, people were losing their lives. Here, they only faced poverty. How could this not be considered a sanctuary?
Around midnight, Wang Linchi saw Zhang Dao struggling to get out of bed. This made Wang Linchi observe him intently.
What is he up to?
Wang Linchi had arrived late and hadn't witnessed the earlier incident involving Zhang Dao's cousin.
Even if he had seen it, he wouldn't have paid it much mind. The Nine Extres was no ordinary person, after all.
However, what happened next left Wang Linchi sowhat perplexed: Zhang Dao simply moved a stone at the side of the road.
The Unpredicted Prophet ability? This ti, Wang Linchi was genuinely puzzled.
For Zhang Dao to go to such lengths for what seed like a aningless act was indeed strange.
I don't know about Li Wen'an, but Li Qinglian never displayed this ability so overtly. Was it because he had protection from the very beginning?
Ah, Li Qinglian's manifestation was different; it alerted to an impending enemy attack.
Wang Linchi quickly recalled that Li Qinglian did indeed possess such an ability, but it wasn't as crude or simplistic as Zhang Dao's. Zhang Dao hadn't even managed to completely cover his tracks.
Perhaps he hadn't thought of it, or perhaps it was due to his injuries.
After finishing this, Zhang Dao struggled back onto his sickbed, panting heavily, his internal organs burning.
After completing this task, Zhang Dao drifted into a deep sleep.
Wang Linchi didn't touch the stone, nor did he disturb Zhang Dao. He silently collected data on Zhang Dao and compared it with Li Qinglian's.
Unlike Li Qinglian, Zhang Dao is active from the very beginning.
It's as if he's ant to stir up the world and make a na for himself right away, unlike Li Qinglian, who had a period of stability to transition.
More importantly, Zhang Dao's body was possessed mid-life. Could it be that the technique has matured?
Comparing the two, Wang Linchi identified more discrepancies, especially regarding the Nine Extres' manifestation, which was completely different.
One occurred in infancy, the other in adolescence. Theoretically, possessing the body of an adolescent should be significantly harder than that of an infant, and it also ant over a decade of developntal ti was lost.
The main point was, it didn't add up. He could understand if the rationale was that infancy was too precarious, thus necessitating possession of a host old enough for self-preservation.
But look at the state of the possessed individual: riddled with injuries and orphaned. If anyone nearby harbored ill intentions, he could easily be made to 'die from illness.'
So, this wasn't just a bad starting hand; it was an abysmal one—as bad as it could possibly get.
He'd have a better chance of survival possessing the sixty-year-old man next door than this Zhang Dao.
Injured and sick as he is, he'll need at least three to five months to recover. If he hadn't encountered , he wouldn't even be able to afford dicinal herbs. The chance of self-healing isn't zero, but it's very low, especially with internal injuries.
Unless… he has so other trick up his sleeve!
Wang Linchi speculated on so things.
There were other complicating factors too. For example, the village doctor was likely unskilled, or even if he were skilled, he would lack many necessary dicinal herbs.
So, what is his hidden card? Wang Linchi suspected it might be the Unpredicted Prophet ability.
As he pondered, the sky gradually lightened, and many villagers began to leave their hos with farming tools to start their day's work.
To ensure a harvest, one had to rise early and work till dusk. Otherwise, acting like a lazy dog—fishing for three days and drying nets for two—and still expecting a harvest? That was just wishful thinking.
"Who's so inconsiderate as to leave a stone in the middle of the road?" a farr grumbled, kicking the stone Zhang Tao had moved to the roadside.
After that, it seed as though there was no further issue with the stone.
A short while later, Wang Linchi witnessed a burly man suffer a series of mishaps, culminating in him stumbling and striking his head on that very stone. With a sickening CRACK, his neck snapped, and he died instantly.
An interesting thod, Wang Linchi thought. He hadn't expected this outco.
He quickly gathered information on the deceased burly man.
His death wasn't unjust. So, you were planning to covet the property of the Nine Extres, were you? Wang Linchi mused, having learned the full story.
It was the first ti he'd seen soone so recklessly court death. The Nine Extres was no ordinary individual; was he soone just anyone could bully? Now look what happened—an 'accidental' death.
Only Wang Linchi knew this was all Zhang Dao's design. Yet, outwardly, there was no connection to Zhang Dao. He had only moved a stone. It wasn't Zhang Dao who kicked it to the side of the road, and the man's death was ultimately caused by his own series of accidents.
Even if spoken out loud, nobody would believe it.
It's about ti. Wang Linchi noted the hour and saw that Zhang Dao had awakened. He knew it was the right mont to make his appearance.
But how should I attract Zhang Dao's attention now? What if I simply rely on his Unpredicted Prophet ability and sothing goes wrong?
If Wang Linchi could read the mories of Zhang Dao, this current vessel of the Nine Extres, he wouldn't need to go to such lengths.
I need a good pretext... Wang Linchi pondered and quickly found one. I'll offer to treat his injuries. He's the most seriously injured person in the village... but he has no money.
Since he's penniless, he might not co forward. That could lead to complications.
Zhang Dao did possess the Unpredicted Prophet ability, but Wang Linchi knew it had limitations: it could only foresee events the user would personally experience. If Zhang Dao had no money and thus didn't co out to seek treatnt, his foresight wouldn't predict any connection with Wang Linchi.
If there's no interaction, there would be no subsequent events to foresee. There had to be at least so potential for connection; otherwise, how could one predict sothing that was never going to occur?
If foresight were truly all-encompassing, the Human Association Headquarters wouldn't have been destroyed by Wang Linchi; Li Qinglian would have saved it.
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